This is the second novel in a series. Sydney is the owner of some successful restaurants and is in a relationship with Clay who is a bar owner nearby. Clay's son arrives to town then arrives his mother who abandoned him, Miranda. Miranda is then found murdered which leads Sydney on the hunt to find out who killed her. The story is told in alternating timelines so the reader gets a look into Miranda's past.

I found this to be a decent read.

Sydney Richardson has her hands full with two successful restaurants. When her boyfriend's ex comes to town, causing chaos in her wake, how will Sydney respond?

I was hoping that Bad Girl would clean up some of the unanswered questions from the first book, but the author really just added more mystery. I never felt a connection to the characters and really had no stake in the outcome. Overall, I was underwhelmed with the mystery aspects and even less about the relationship parts. For these reasons, I would not recommend Bad Girl to other readers.

Disclaimer: Alibi and NetGalley provided me with an Advanced Reader's Copy of Bad Girl. The choice to review this book was my own.

Successful restaurateur Sydney Richardson is back in the second book in the "Hush Money Series." She has recovered nicely from her last brush with trouble; she's looking forward to spending the holidays with her family and close friends in the picturesque snow-covered Madison, WI. Clay Hawthorne, her boyfriend who owns the blue club down the street from her to restaurants, are finding themselves getting closer and closer. He fits right in with her mother and her cop family; they have all accepted him into their group. Sydney battles from relationship issues as a result of being given up for adoption as an infant. She's still a bit nervous regarding their relationship. Clay's adult son, Steel who has been traveling abroad makes an appearance one night at Clay's home when Sydney was staying over.
Clay raised Steel on his own, his high school sweetheart, Miranda Greer from Montana couldn't deal with having a baby or being tied down when Clay offered to marry her. She dumped the baby on Clay, and he hasn't heard from her since. Fast forward twenty years, it seems Miranda has made quite a change in her life, she's a very wealthy, polished, beautiful woman who thinks nothing of coming back to into Clay and Steel's life to claim them both. Clay want's nothing to do with Miranda her appearance still shakes him after all these years. He can't deny Steel for wanting to get to know his mother, but he also knows something isn't quite right with her, she's an entirely different woman. Sydney doesn't take this to well at all. Miranda makes no bones that she not only wants Steel but his father as well.
Things get worse for the couple after Miranda's body is found in an abandoned barn out in the country after a particularly loud confrontation between her and Clay. The same detective and officers who he has gotten close too are accusing him of murder. Sydney, of course, doesn't believe he would be capable of this crime and she goes to Ann Arbor to figure out what exactly Miranda has been up to these past twenty years.
I have to admit I didn't see the ending coming; it took me by surprise. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in this series. Disclosure: I would like to the thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. The opinion I expressed above are my own.

I was a bit confused in some parts of the story, but overall I liked the characters. Thanks to Netgalley, for this free copy. My opinion was my own.

This wasn't my favorite of stories but it also wasn't my least favorite. I didn't read book 1 so I hadn't "met" Sydney previously. This was a good, suspenseful mystery that grabbed my interest and had me playing whodunnit along with Sydney. I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read. Clay and Sydney have a great relationship until his past in the shape of an ex returns to haunt him. Why after all these years does the mother of his child show up and what does she really what with them? This was full of twists and turns. Thanks for allowing me to write about it.

This book went nowhere for a long time. I like crime and drama stories normally but this just confused me.

Bad Girl, the second title in the Hush Money series, is an enjoyable quick read. Sydney Richardson, restaurant owner and amateur sleuth, works to solve the murder of a woman from her current love interest’s past. I am a serious T.E. Woods fan and I promote her Justice series with unabashed enthusiasm. This new series provides fine reads with good plots. I’ve read both titles so far and will seek out the next when it is published.. I can’t yet say that Ms. Woods has achieved the level of writing success that I expected based on her first series. It’s the character development that needs work. Sydney, her mother who supervises the restaurant staff, and the rest of the staff are just a little too perfectly happy— a little bit like some Nora Roberts trilogies in recent years where friends, family and associates live in a rosy little bubble. Enter a murder and Nancy Drew-ish Sydney is off chasing a killer. She makes some brilliant deductions and, over the objections of people who care for her safety, some questionable decisions as she pursues murderers. The other (hopefully constructive) suggestion I have is to work a bit on more credible romantic relationships. Somehow that aspect of both series just doesn’t ring true..
All that said, the Hush Money series is definitely worth a read. I recommend it to readers looking for mystery and suspense with a bit of romance.

I liked this author's style. Lots of twist and turns, realistic portrayal of a young man, Steel, Clay's son. Sidney is a strong woman with a good sense of herself. Clay is caught in the middle trying to please his son and Sidney while trying to steer clear of Miranda's manipulation.

BAD GIRL is the second book in a new series. The first in the series, HUSH MONEY, was intriguing. I must say BAD GIRL is less than intriguing; less than interesting. The plot lacks depth, the characters lack charm, and the pacing is oh-so-slow. I am sorry to say I stuck with this to find out who-dun-it, while realizing it didn’t matter because I had lost interest. The person was obvious, and the revealed motive was contrived and unconvincing. The ending was abrupt and unsatisfying. The entire storyline seems ill-conceived. I loved HUSH MONEY. Therefore, this second installment was very disappointing, I doubt I will continue with this series.

I really enjoyed this book. Wouldn't have guessed the ending until it was actually happening.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It was a fairly entertaining read. A good mystery/suspense. I cannot, in good conscience, give it a 5* review because, for me, the jumping back and forth between past and present is always confusing.

This one started out with a creepy, edge of your seat scene, and I was all ready to dig in to a compelling mystery. That was chapter one. I quickly found myself disappointed from that point. Other than that first chapter, the first half of the book was drawn out and rather boring, and with the exception of a couple of characters, most weren't particularly likable. That fist half of the book is everything that happened in the couple of months leading up to the murder and while there were a few pertinent details about the victim, most things were neither particularly interesting nor relevant. The story does pick up in the second half, but it's a mish-mash of possible suspects and Sydney striding headlong into trouble. We finally do get to the conclusion and the murderer is revealed, but after the lackluster first half of the book, it was too little - too late. The ending is rather open-ended, but I don't feel enough investment in the characters to follow up with future books in the series.

As anyone who follows my reviews knows, I think books written in multiple timelines testify to author laziness. I am not a T.E. Woods fan and when I saw how this book is constructed, I stopped reading.

I received a review copy of "Bad Girl: A Hush Money Mystery" by T. E. Woods (Random House – Alibi) through NetGalley.com.

I have read and really liked most of the Mort Grant series by T.E. Woods, so I know Woods can write excellent books. This one, however, did nothing for me. I got about 20% in and didn't want to put any more time into it. The flashbacks and interactions between characters felt aimless, nothing interested had happened, and I just didn't care about any of the characters. This one was a disappointment for me.

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nicely done thriller. Sydney has settled in with her two restaurants and her lover Clay when POW, his ex Miranda shows up. Then, even worse, she's murdered and Clay is the prime suspect. Of course Sydney is going to investigate. The story moves back and forth in time (which can be annoying sometimes but here is used to good effect). There's a conspiracy involving a "church," illegal activity beyond what Sydney expects to find, and a good romance with Clay. This is one of those that's hard to review without spoilers but suffice it to say it will keep you turning pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This was an enjoyable book. The plot captures you and makes you not want to put the book down. If I had not had to work the next day, I would have finished the book in one night. The main character -- restaurant owner and amateur detective Sydney Richardson -- is well-developed and engaging; the reader will want to root for her. There is a good cast of supporting characters. The author does a good job of drawing out the mystery. I certainly did not expect the plot twist that explained the motive for the murder that is at the center of the story. I was also somewhat surprised by the identity of the killer. My only real criticism, and this is common in many mystery novels, is that once the "big reveal" happens, it is too quick and too tidy.

This is the second book in the Hush Money series and I read it in record time! I read and reviewed the first book, Hush Money, and this second book is just as good and maybe even better, although that could be because the characters are familiar to me now. Sydney owns two restaurants in Madison, Wisconsin (I am a Wisconsin girl!) and is enjoying a relationship with Clay, who owns a nearby bar. Clay’s ex girlfriend, Miranda shows up, after being absent for 17 years, having abandoned Clay and their son, Steel. Miranda is found murdered and Clay is a suspect. The story moves fast, the characters are amazing and realistic and the ending confirms to me there will be at least one more in this series. I absolutely love this author and loved the Fixer series.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

I found the first half of the book to be very repetitive and have little or no direction. All of the action occurred near the end, but it was insufficient to make up for a slow, boring start.

I have been an unwavering fan of T. E. Woods since The Fixer. Every book has grabbed my attention from the first page and held it to the last. For me fiction is all about the story and this author is one hell of a storyteller. This book continues the Hush Money series. I am already looking forward to the next installment. If you are looking for a good thriller/action writer look no further than T. E. Woods.